Facebook Reactions will replace Like button

Facebook's Like button has long been a source of discussion among the social network's users. Yes, it gives a quick way to interact with posts, but it also limits that interaction, essentially encouraging people to hit the Like button even on posts they'd rather react differently to.

This means the button has gradually become less about actually liking something and more about users simply showing some kind of reaction to the news in question.

It seems that Facebook has come up with a solution that should allow its users to react more accurately to posts – something the company thinks is important if people are to share any kind of material that interests them.

“The philosophy behind it is that when you only have a Like button, if you share a sad piece of content, or something that makes you angry, people may not have the tool to react to it and therefore over time the community feels less comfortable sharing that kind of content on Facebook,” stated CEO Mark Zuckerberg in the firm's quarterly earnings call, Techradar reports.

“We want people to be able to share all of the things that are meaningful to them, not just the things that are happy,” he added.

So, what can smartphone users expect? The new Reactions will be angry, sad, haha, yay, wow and love. To use them, simply press down on the Like button and select the appropriate one.

According to Bloomberg Businessweek, the feature will be rolled out in the next few weeks.

This isn't the only Facebook tweak smartphone users will have noticed lately. Towards the end of last year, the company announced its expanded notifications tab, which gives users the chance to customise the information they see when using the app.